Specialized jigs and fixtures have long been used to aid in holding and manipulating parts and assemblies, often for the purpose of maintaining parts in proper alignment during the assembly or disassembly of a machine or part. Because prior art fixtures are normally custom designed for a particular application, few have universal use.
In connection with complex, highly sophisticated processing equipment used to manufacture semiconductor devices, maintenance of the equipment and parts is particularly critical since such processed involve continuous high volume production which results in wear and build up of processing materials and contaminants which adversely can affect the quality and yield of the process.
Processing chambers used to fabricate semiconductors devices, such as IC wafers, employ means for introducing certain gasses into the chamber that are required to carry out a particular process. For example, one process utilizes a TEOS gas, such as a TMB which uses a boron source, or a TMPI gas which uses a phosphor source. Along with the TEOS gas, N.sub.2 or O.sub.3 gasses are also introduced into the chamber where they become mixed with the primary TEOS gas. The introduction of these gasses into the chamber is achieved using a specialized injector head which has an input side coupled with sources of the gasses, a manifold like head in which the gasses are conducted into the head, and exit passages for introducing the gasses into the chamber. Injector heads of the type described above comprise a plurality of stacked plates fastened together and sealed from each other by "O" rings. Each of the plates typically includes a longitudinal groove therein through which a particular gas is transported from the inlet side to exit nozzles. These injector heads require periodic preventive maintenance in order to maintain their operation at peak performance. Such maintenance involves disassembling the entire injector head, including disassembling all the plates, cleaning the plates of material buildup and contaminants, and replacing the O-rings, which deteriorate over time, particularly when subjected to toxic gasses. In the past, disassembly of the heads had been performed simply by placing the head on a workbench and removing the fasteners and fittings that secure the plates together. In some cases, the plates and O-rings tend to stick together, and in order to separate the plates, a repair man has resorted to tapping or pounding on parts of the head with a hammer in order to break the plates free from each other. This rather rough, and imprecise handling sometimes results in damage to the plates in the form of scratches, nicks, or indentations which may adversely affect injector head operation or even ruin the head.
Accordingly, there is a clear need in the art for apparatus aiding in the disassembly of the injector heads which overcomes each of the deficiencies discussed above,